inspire

Who Is Your God Given Mirror?

I wrote a poem years ago in regards to people and mirrors. The flow of it was there and it just slipped from my brain to my finger tips in seconds. The words have never left me since the day it was written. It is a simple reminder to myself and others struggling to understand people in general.

mirror

God Given Mirror

I asked God for a mirror,

and He decided to give me you.

He said If I don’t like what I see,

then perhaps I have done it too.

He told me to cast no judgement,

on others when they are weak.

And that if I had nothing nice to say,

there shall be no need to speak.

He told me that you were my mirror,

what I dislike in you needs changed within me.

Because we are all one another’s mirrors

and our own worst enemy.

There is a lot of truth to what is said in this poem for the simple fact that “what we do not like in others is usually something that we do not like about ourselves”.

It may seem hard to believe it at first, but not if you really think in depth about it.

When we do not like someone…. it is because they either do something we use to do ourselves and we have attached negative feelings towards that action, or they do something we have suppressed and kept ourselves from doing.

 © Angela Bininger and The Empowerer, 2009-2018. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this websites author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Angela Bininger and The Empowerer with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Do You Use People Like I Do?

using people

I have been thinking a lot about people using people. Whether it be to get ahead, gain information, or reap some sort of benefit it happens all of the time.

There is only one acceptable time to use someone and that is when we use them for inspiration. We should use people daily for this, and we should use people from all walks of life.

Every day I find inspiration through sharing stories with or by interacting with people. Sometimes it is something funny the kids do. It could be the cashier at a grocery store. It could be something pleasant or thought provoking and it could also be by something completely irritating. Regardless, I find it.

So, there you have it, I can now admit that I use people all the time. I never know who it will be or what word will pull the trigger, but when I see it or I hear it I tuck it away for later use. And when I get hungry, I chew on it and then I spit it out. 

Do you use people the way I do?

© Angela Bininger and The Empowerer, 2009-2018. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this websites author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Angela Bininger and The Empowerer with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

ABC’s of Life Series – Day 4 Letter D : Dreaming Is A Must

ABC’s of Life Series

Day 4, Letter D

 

Dreaming Is A Must

We all are born to dream. Sometimes we just have a hard time believing  in our dreams enough to follow through. We get stuck in these ruts of being comfortable, and find ourselves afraid to take a risk. However, we need to take a risk; to achieve a gain.

This world has developed due to people’s dreams and their determination to make those dreams a reality. Because someone dared to dream, we now communicate in this world faster than ever before. We build luxurious homes, we dine at the finest restaurants, and we wear some of the most lavish clothing.

Because someone dared to dream we have cures for diseases. Infants can live prematurely for weeks ahead of schedule and still survive. We are living longer, and for the most part we are healthier too.

Thank goodness people in this world have dreams. I am grateful that no matter how many times people were told it could not be done, someone made it a point to do it anyway. They followed their heart, and they succeeded.

Dreams keep us alive and give us something to look forward to. Dreams advance the world and grant opportunities like never before. Dreams, are a key to happiness. Fulfilling them is when happiness has nearly been mastered.

“Not only must we take time to dream, but we must make the time for our dreams to come true.”                    

What is your dream? Are you ready to make it happen? It can be done ….

 

 

Day 5 Letter E: Exercise Your Freedom Of Speech 

© Angela Bininger and The Empowerers, 2009-2011. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this websites author and/or owner is strictly prohibited.

The Importance Of Breaking Cycles

“We must break the cycle before it breaks us”

Cycles can be vicious and are often hard to break. To break them, we must continuously focus on the big picture. We have to focus on the positive side of breaking the cycle. By focusing there we will find the cycle broken sooner rather than later.

If we opt not to break the cycle, it eventually will break us more than it already has. Not to mention there are already plenty of broken people in the world. By breaking the cycle, we can then begin to help those broken people in the world who are in a cycle quite like ours was.

“We know we have broken the cycle once we find ourselves helping

others break that same cycle. And with that, there is much hope.”

© Angela Bininger and The Empowerer, 2009-2015. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this websites author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Angela Bininger and The Empowerer with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

What Faith Can Do

Thought/song of the day:

When the world says you can’t;  faith will tell you that you can.


Everybody falls sometime. But we have to find the strength to rise from the ashes, and make a new beginning. Anyone can feel the ache, we think its more than we can take. But we are stronger, stronger than we know. Don’t  give up now, the sun will soon be shining. We have to face the clouds, to find the silver lining.

I’ve seen dreams  that the move mountains. Hope that doesn’t ever end, even when the sky is falling. I’ve seen miracles just happen, silent prayers get answered, and broken hearts become brand new. That’s what faith can do.

It doesn’t matter what we  have heard, Impossible is not a word. It is a reason, for someone not to try. Everybody’s scared to death, we may decide to take that step out on the water. But it will be alright. Life is so much more, than what your eyes are seeing. But you will find your way, if you keep believing. 


The ABC’s Of Life


© Angela Bininger and The Empowerers, 2009-2012. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this websites author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Angela Bininger and The Empowerers with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Patience 101 – God’s Delays Are Not His Denials

Never think that God’s delays are God’s denials.  Hold on; hold fast; hold out.  Patience is genius.   -Comte de Buffon

I think of many scenarios when I read this quote. When I first read it I thought of a friend from my school years who had several miscarriages and still births. Finally on number six she carried a baby to term that lived.  God was not denying her anything, he simply had a better person for her child to have as a father figure. He had a different plan but still honored this woman’s prayer, over time. This woman believed she would be a mother, and she didn’t give up. And by believing it would happen, it did. Her patience gave her the life she dreamed of. Her refusal to hear from doctor’s “You can’t have children, stop trying” got her where she is today. Most women, would have stopped after a couple times. But this woman is strong, and knew in her heart she deserved this prayer to be answered. And it was. She has a beautiful baby girl. Her story gives me chills every time I think about it.

I also think of that friend with the “strained” marriage.  I think of how her dream as a child was to have a family. Something stable for her children. Some normalcy! I think of how they struggled recently, but by holding on and being patient they are now on the cusp of have that family they dreamed of. Something far better than what that marriage has known for so many years. By getting to the root of their marital problems they are discovering more about themselves and each other. God wasn’t denying them a happy family, He was just making sure they still wanted it. It took a little bit of heartache to move the couple closer, but it has moved them closer together. They held on, they are being patient, and because of that their golden years will be beautiful.

This quote reminds me of one of my favorite Bloggers as she works diligently to restore her marriage, and let go of the past. By God denying her love that resulted in an extra marital affair; her and her husband’s patience in restoring their marriage, the hours of counseling, and soul-searching will give her more love than she has ever known over time. If they are patient. God wasn’t denying anything in those moments of despair as the love affair ended. He was just giving her something better. He gave her a strong man to love her unconditionally, along with a chance to know more about herself. The situation that was once bad, has the potential now to bring a lifetime of happiness. Pure bliss!

When I read this quote I also think about how long I waited for a career. I stayed home with my children many years, and although I have a PhD in child rearing I felt inadequate when it came to careers. I felt like I had not done much with my life. I began nursing school and felt it was the best thing for my life. Every day I would leave for school excited. Thinking about my future as a nurse gave me chills.  It appeared to be the only solution to many problems. But as I sat enrolled in school spending 60 hours a week between my books and classes, it just wasn’t an option for me at this juncture in my life. I felt like I was missing out on my kids lives for something I can do when they are older. The timing just didn’t seem appropriate, and I will never get these tender years with my children back. So I stopped nursing school.

When I stopped nursing school I said I would find a career. That I didn’t need that degree yet. That my children were most important and that I need to be available for them. For  months I waited,  I cried, and I prayed. I watched my savings take a nosedive as I patiently and diligently searched for employment. I knew in my heart of hearts that God wouldn’t let me down. I knew there was something good out there for me.

As  a result of denying what I once thought I wanted, God gave me something better. Something better than a career I was only entering for money and job security. In fact, He gave me my dream. He gave me a career  that works around my children’s schedules. He gave me full-time pay for part-time hours. He gave me a place of employment but I can still  be here to put my kids on the bus every day, and also be here to get them off.  The income potential with this career He gave me in exchange for my patience, surpasses that of the degree I would have received this June. My patience landed me a higher paying career, without that piece of paper that says “she graduated college, she is smart enough to do this”.

These are just some of the things that came to mind when I read that quote. What comes to your mind? What has happened in your life where you thought God was denying you something? Have you thought He was denying it only to find out He had something better planned all along? Was  His plan was just different for you than your plan for you was?


Spoiling what we have, Desiring what we have not

Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; but remember that what you now have, was once among the things you only hoped for. ~anonymous~

I read this quote and it hit home in so many ways. We are all so guilty of this and we do it in almost every aspect of our lives. Working moms want to be stay at home moms, and stay at home moms want to be working. People who are single want marriage and most marriages are seeking divorce.

We think we want that new position until we get it, then wish we had the old one. We think once we obtain material things we will feel better, until we get them. And then we realize we only felt better until the novelty wore off. We think we would rather live under a bridge off love than a nice home and relationship going through some hurdles, until we are homeless. And the relationship is gone. And bridges are burnt.

We think plastic surgery will fix it, until we get it done and realize we are still miserable inside. We think that having that newer car makes us better socially, but with our words we suffer from social retardation. We thinking bragging about what we have will make people like us, only to find out they can’t stand us.

We think so many things, and the results are often opposite of what we think they will be.

So lets not spoil what we have, or live in regret. Our life and where we are is what we wanted at some point. And if we think we want something else and that having that something else will make life happier…. we better think again.

True happiness, comes from within.

What Empowers You?

I was asked a question a few weeks ago that gave me deep conviction. After pondering my response for a few weeks and feeling as though I finally have an answer I must now challenge my readers with the same exact question. What empowers you?

When I was asked this very question, the conviction didn’t come from the fact that I had no answers. I knew the answers, well, sort of. The conviction came from the fact that I felt as though I weren’t doing enough. As though I were just idling through life, and not really doing much of anything.

This question caused me to backtrack over the last few years of my life, and in doing that I realized that even though most of the things I do are of great purpose, there was nothing that really stood out as a simple answer. It prompted me to begin diving deep to figure out what actually empowers me the most, although I am still unable to narrow it down to one particular thing.

Here is what I came up with:

1.) Being a leader, teaching, helping others succeed. Wether it be parenting, helping friends with personal issues, passing along useful knowledge, coaching a team etc., I am passionate about leading.

2.) Setting goals and aggressively working to obtain them. (I had them set but was still just sitting on my butt watching other ships roll in and out, making excuses and extending deadlines)

3.) Being Independent both in thought and in actions. Knowing that my children see this and are taught to be this way, empowers me.

4.) Challenging others and being challenged by others. It makes you dig deep and do a self check with no other option than to learn more about yourself. That empowers me!

5.) Prayer!!!! God gives strength like no other. For those that do not believe and have never experienced the joy and peace he gives, I am sorry. I hope that someday you crave it and get a taste for it. He is real! I promise!

6.) Positive people!!! I love positive people! And typically I am a positive person. However, I know that if I am around negative energy it drags me to the ground. I can’t be around it. It is like cancer!

7.) Knowledge!!! When I gain knowledge about anything it empowers me! I feel a need to spread the news so to speak. Knowledge is power!

I still didn’t come up with an answer to blow anyone’s mind away, however, the point was to challenge you to think. What empowers you? What are you doing to make this world a better place? What do you dream of doing that you haven’t had the motivation to set out and achieve?

Success

Success is measured by what YOU DO with your life,

not by who is in it,  or what you have.

© 2010 Angela Bininger
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